1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a communication apparatus having a communication parameter configuration function and a method for controlling the communication apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
The communication using IEEE 802.11 wireless local area networks requires configuring wireless communication parameters (hereinafter, referred to as “wireless parameters”) such as communication channel, network identifier (Service Set Identifier (SSID)), encryption method, encryption key, authentication method, and authentication key, for each wireless communication apparatus.
In general, configuring these wireless parameters by manual input is a complicated work for a user. Therefore, as discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-338821 or U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2006/0246947 (corresponding to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-311138), there is a conventional method for automatically acquiring wireless parameters from various manufacturers and configuring the acquired wireless parameters to a wireless communication apparatus. According to such a conventional method, configuration of wireless parameters can be automatically performed according to a predetermined procedure and messages between connected wireless communication apparatuses, so that the wireless parameters can be supplied from one wireless communication apparatus to the other wireless communication apparatus.
Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) is an automatic configuration method recently standardized by Wi-Fi Alliance.
In many cases, when a providing apparatus supplies wireless parameters to a reception apparatus according to an automatic configuration method, the providing apparatus performs encryption key exchange processing and wireless parameter encryption processing for the purpose of enhancing the security. In general, the encryption key exchange processing and the wireless parameter encryption processing require a long time. Therefore, the usability of a wireless communication apparatus deteriorates if a user is required to perform configuration of wireless parameters every time the user starts wireless communication.
If there are common wireless parameters available between two or more wireless communication apparatuses, it is useful to perform communication based on the common wireless parameters. However, even in such a case, the operability deteriorates if a user is required to determine whether to use wireless parameters already stored or newly perform wireless parameter configuration processing.
Moreover, if a providing apparatus supplies different wireless parameters to a plurality of reception apparatuses, these apparatuses may not be capable of performing wireless communication with each other.
The above-described problems are not limited to wireless parameters. Similar problems occur if wired communication apparatuses perform communication based on communication parameters.